The setting sun dyed the sky Kurama-orange. After spending the entire afternoon showing Boruto around Konoha, the group finally arrived beneath the apartment building where Naruto lived.
The apartment building looked rather old, its exterior paint slightly weathered by time. "All right, this is where I live." Naruto stopped and turned to Boruto and Sasuke behind him. "It's a little small, but I hope you don't mind. It's not often that we have visitors, so I'm making a feast tonight."
Of the two, Boruto looked somewhat dejected. He stared at the face before him, one far too familiar to him, hesitated for a moment, then finally gathered the courage to speak.
"Um..."
"Hm?" Naruto tilted his head slightly and patiently waited for Boruto's next words.
"About what happened today... I'm sorry..." Boruto lowered his head. "I shouldn't have spoken without knowing the whole story..."
"It's fine." Naruto waved it off casually. "I don't really care. If you want to apologize, you should apologize to her." He pointed at Satsuki standing nearby.
"I... understand..." Boruto replied uncertainly. He secretly glanced at Satsuki, unable to help sighing inwardly. The "master" of this world was even more difficult to approach than he had imagined. Had Mr. Sasuke been this kind of person when he was young too?
"Oh, right, you too." Naruto turned his gaze toward the back and addressed Second Pillar, who had kept his distance the whole time. "It wouldn't be right to let a guest sleep rough. At least have dinner before you go."
Second Pillar had originally been considering finding a suitable tree nearby to spend the night in—after living on the road for so long, this was already routine for him.
Hearing Naruto's invitation, he froze slightly, then nodded with a complicated expression.
Naruto skillfully pushed open the